Deacon Rick Lapierre
Mitch Michaud was sitting across the table and kept staring at me. Finally I asked him what he was looking at and he said, "that's the real you, isn't it?" I have to confess that there is a fantasy part of me that enjoys being a biker type, having nothing better to do than mount up on a beautiful spring day on a Harley and go roaring down the highway. I like to think that that's not my dominant personality trait, but who knows?
Personally I think it is impossible to categorize people into nice neat little packages. I've known members of motorcycle gangs who project that tough exterior demeanor, yet would give up their last dollar to a child for an ice cream cone. And I've known the reverse, people who you think would never raise their voice suddenly let out an ear-piercing roar at something you or I wouldn't think twice about. Yes, we humans are very complex creatures. We have all types of different personality responses, often depending on the life situation we find ourselves in.
One of the core teachings of our faith is that Jesus is fully human, as well as fully divine. And even though we are cautioned by the Church fathers not to place too much emphasis on one or the other of Jesus' natures, we tend to package Jesus just as we do with most people we meet, often in response to our own prejudices or beliefs. For example, it is sometimes tempting to think of Jesus as the great magician who can perform any trick I ask of Him. Most college students fall into this at one time or another, as in "Jesus, if you help me pass my math test, I'll give up drinking."
You can test yourself on this by asking yourself which is your favorite gospel passage about Jesus. I can almost guarantee that it will be one of Jesus' healing or miracle stories. Like, "anything you ask of the Father in my name, He will give it to you." Nobody ever says that their favorite gospel passage is "if someone slaps you on one cheek, turn and offer the other cheek as well," or "go and sell all that you have and give the money to the poor."
That's why we find Jesus asking us at one point, "Who do YOU say that I am?" The answer to the question takes an entire lifetime to figure out.
The answer to the question takes an entire lifetime to figure out.
You see, faith, or belief, is about relationship. Every day is a new day to walk and learn more about Jesus, just like you do with everyone else who walks your life journey with you. Every day you learn something new about your spouse, your best friend, your co-workers. It's the same with Jesus.
This is what Peter, James and John were finding out in the gospel stories. At first Jesus was this wandering preacher who walked up to them as they were working and said that He was proclaiming the coming of God's Kingdom. They left their jobs and walked with Him for three years, seeing all kinds of wonderful things and experiencing the power of God in Jesus' actions and preaching. What must have been going through their minds and hearts during all this? From the evidence it was clear that they believed He was the Messiah, the One promised by God to restore the Kingdom of David to its prominence and fulfill the covenants made with Abraham and Moses.
If that were all that Jesus was about, then His ministry would never have had to extend beyond the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. But Jesus had to teach them that God had much more in mind for His creation than merely establishing a monarchy in Israel.
That's what the Transfiguration was about. That Jesus was imbued with the power of God's Holy Spirit had to be evident by his past actions. But now, to be changed into a brightness that defied description, to be discussing His ministry with the great prophets who had come before Him, and finally to be proclaimed not only as the Messiah, not only as a prophet proclaiming the coming of God's Kingdom, but by God's own voice as His beloved Son! This was the affirmation that the Holy Spirit had revealed to Peter earlier when asked by Jesus who He was, to proclaim Him as not only the Messiah, but the Son of God.
This is a massive turning point in Jesus' life. It is the affirmation of God the Father of the path that He has freely chosen. You almost have to wonder what it was that Elijah and Moses had to say. What were they discussing on that mountaintop?
The Transfiguration is a powerful event in the life of all that it touches. It changes not only Jesus but it changes the way that Peter, James and John look upon Him from there on out. What must they have been thinking as they came down from the mountain and the other apostles pressed them for details and Jesus had told them to be silent? And finally, what is this rising from the dead business?
On Ash Wednesday I challenged you to walk with Jesus this Lent. I've challenged myself to do the same. I keep hearing Jesus ask me, "But you, who do you say that I am? Am I a magician to whom you look to solve the problems that beset you? Am I the plumber you call when your life is leaking all over the place because you didn't take care of the pipes? Am I a prophet who comes to tell you everything you are doing wrong? Or am I the Son of God who is walking with you into the Kingdom of God?
"Listen to my words, learn from my example, minister to others as I minister to you. Be loved by me and by my Father as you deserve to be. Be faithful to His command to listen to my words, for they are truly the words of everlasting love."
